Transparent, Photothermal, and Icephobic Surfaces via Layer-by-Layer Assembly.

Icing and frosting on transparent surfaces compromise visibility on various optical equipment and transparent infrastructures. It remains challenging to fabricate energy-saving coatings for harvesting solar energy while maintaining high transparency. Here, transparent, photothermic, and icephobic composite surfaces composed of photothermal nanomaterials and polyelectrolytes via layer-by-layer assembly are designed and constructed.